HOUSING SYSTEM FOR SOWS

Beatriz Rosa SantosAPBI 315

August 2014

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HOUSING SYSTEM FOR SOWS

1. Pigs

2. Pork Industry

3. Individual Housing System Implications

Health Ethics

4. Legal status of gestation stalls

5. Alternative housing system: Group Housing Non-competitive and competitive systems

6.Conclusion

7. References

Figure 2. Tamworth Sows and Piglets. Source: farminguk.com

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PIGS

Intelligent animals “mirror self-recognition test” (Broom, Sena & Moynihan)

Social animals (BC SPCA)

Natural behaviours roaming ● rooting ● digging ● nest building ● social interaction

Farm animals

Figure 3. Sows and Piglets. Source: gdargaud.net

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PORK INDUSTRY Third largest in Canada – 27 billion pigs a year in 7,000 farms (Statistics Canada)

High Density

Housing of Sows

An adult female pig, especially one which has farrowed

Otherwise Gilt

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INDIVIDUAL HOUSING SYSTEMGESTATION STALLS Early 20th Century

1960s – larger herds

= individual housing/gestation stalls

Reasons: Husbandry Control feed intake Reduce aggression

Figure 4. Gestation stalls. Source: BC SPCA

(Cromwell, G. L. & Hays, V. W., 1999)

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INDIVIDUAL HOUSING SYSTEMGESTATION STALLS Early 1980s – concerns aroused

Limitation of space

No environmental complexity

No real social interaction

Figure 5. Gestation stall. Source: Humane Society of the United States

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GESTATION STALLS ● IMPLICATIONS

Health – Body and Mind

↓Bone mass ↓ Muscle Mass Leg weakness (Merchant & Broom,1996) Joint problems (Freeden & Sather, 1978)

Cardiovascular problems (Johnston & Li, 2013) Urinary infections (Mendl, Broom & Zanella, 1995)

Boredom and Frustration = abnormal behaviours Vacuuming chewing Chewing bars Head weaning Fill blanks Hypotheses of endofphin production (Van Putten et al., 1988).

Figure 6. Gestation stall. Source: farmsanct

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GESTATION STALLS ● ETHICS

X Space

X Natural behaviours

X Social interaction

Cognitive animals

Figure 7. Source: photobucket

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GESTATION STALLS ● LEGAL STATE CanadaNo national regulationNew Canadian Code of Practice – 2014 (NFCC, 2014) Just requirements for new and rebuilt stalls, feeding, floor

Maple Leaf Foods phase-out 2017 Largest producer in Canada

United StatesNo national regulationFlorida, Arizona, California, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Michigan and Ohio phased-out

Smithfield phase-out in 20 years largest pork producer world

(Street et al.,2012)

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GESTATION STALLS ● LEGAL STATE United KingdomBanned in 1999

(Street et al.,2012)

EUBanned in 2001, deadline 2013Requirements for enriched group housing (social interaction, natural behaviours)

(European Commission, 2011)

Figure 8. Source: Daily Mail UK

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ALTERNATIVEGROUP HOUSING SYSTEMS Few advantages and disadvantages in production compared to stalls

HoweverSocial interactionMore spaceNatural behaviours

Problems: Feed intake/ feed inibition Agression Management

Need planning Floor Space Grouping Management Feeding System

Figure 9. Source: animalphotos.info

(Johnston & Li, 2013)

GROUP HOUSING ● FEEDING SYSTEMS Non-competitive Sows protected when feeding High Cost

1. Eletronic Sow Feeding (ESF)Eletronic IdentificationComputer based Specific nutritional needs attented

2. Free Access StallsMore space requiredNo control of feed intakeAllow overfeeding

Figure 10. ESF. Source: Big Dutchman. Figure 11. Free Access Stalls. Source: National Hog Farmer.

(Johnston & Li, 2013)

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GROUP HOUSING ● FEEDING SYSTEMS Competitive Sows NOT protected when feeding Low Cost

1. Floor FeedingDrop feed on the floorCompetition

2. Partial Feeding Stals Stals allow head of half of the bodyDrops feed on the modified stall floorHelps control competition

3. Trickle Feeding System Drops feed in intervalsIntervals = eat timeHelps control competitionCan be combined with item 2.

Figure 12. Free Access Stalls. Source: The Pig Site.

Figure 13. Free Access Stalls. Source: The Pig Site.

(Johnston & Li, 2013)

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CONCLUSION “Having visited, and extensively studied, examples of all contemporary systems utilized in confinement agriculture—be it poultry, veal, cattle, or swine—I can unhesitatingly affirm that sow stalls, or gestation crates, are the most egregious example of the application of industrial methods to animal production. While all of these systems are violative of animals’ physical and psychological nature—what I call telos, following Aristotle—when one vectors into one’s reckoning porcine intelligence, behavioral complexity under natural conditions, and severity of truncation of natural behaviors in these stalls, including even simple postural adjustment, gestation crates come to the forefront as the worst of a bad lot. I have personally witnessed ordinary people’s response to their first experience of these crates, and have seen eminent academics emerge from a sow barn unabashedly in tears. I have also seen an open pen system for sows literally side by side with a stall system, and watched the extraordinary differences in the behavior of the sows. While those animals in the stalls exhibited fear, skittishness, a reluctance to approach humans, and what can only be called a mad facial expression, those in the open pens were friendly, inquisitive, and exploratory (even to the

extent of one sow starting to eat my necktie while I was still wearing it).”Bernard E. Rollin

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THANK YOU!

 

Figure 14. Source: Steve Levenstein

• European Commission (2011). Animal Welfare on the Farm – Pigs. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/farm/pigs_en.htm

• European Union Law. Council Directive 2001/88/EC of 23 October 2001 amending Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. Available at: http://eurlex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/ALL/;jsessionid=kLLlTYPcf1Tdtgfzl5wGntQsLyklTd0CfgBXd6yPGyQ0wCgmBPjk!-1841567550?uri=CELEX:32001L0088

• Johnston, L. J., Li, Y. (2013) Group Sow Housing: Practical Considerations. National Hog Farmer (2013), p. 8-17.

• Marchant, J.N., Broom, D.M. (1996) Factors affecting posture-changing in loose housed and confined gestating sows. Animal Science; vol. 63: p. 477- 485.

• Mendl, M., Broom, D.M., Zanella, A. J. (1993) A long-term study of the effects of housing conditions on the welfare of domestic pigs. Animal Production; vol. 56: p. 440.

• Mendl, M., Zanella, A.J., Broom, D.M. (1992) The dexamethasone suppression test: an indicator of depression and poor welfare in sows? Journal of Animal Science; vol; 70: suppementl.1, p.155.

• National Farm Animal Care Council (2014). New Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs released. Available at: http://www.nfacc.ca/news?articleid=221

• National Farm Animal Care Council (2014). Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs. Available at: http://www.nfacc.ca/pdfs/codes/pig_code_of_practice.pdf

• Statistics Canada (2012) Census of Agriculture, selected livestock and poultry data, Canada and provinces. Available at: http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a05?lang=eng&id=0040004&pattern=0040004&searchTypeByValue=1&p2=35

• Street, B. R. (2012) Sow confinement: when will it become a thing of the past? Available at: http://www.spca.bc.ca/assets/documents/welfare/farm/farmsense/feature-story-gestation.pdf

• The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Canada’s Standards for Pigs – Better Care for Pigs. Available at: http://www.spca.bc.ca/welfare/campaign-issues/canadas-standards-for-pigs.html#.U-Pjc2Mrnlw

• The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Farm Animals Facts - Pigs. Available at: http://www.spca.bc.ca/welfare/farm-animal-welfare/farm-animals/pigs.html#.U-PjhGMrnlw

• The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Pigs - Mothering Behaviour. Available at: http://www.spca.bc.ca/welfare/farm-animal-welfare/farm-animals/pigs-mothering-behaviour.html#.U5fnDCimVi8

• Van Putten ,G. (1988). Farming beyond the ability for pigs to adapt. Applied Animal Behaviour Science; vol. 20: p. 63-71

• Johnston, L. J., Li, Y. (2013) Group Sow Housing: Practical Considerations. National Hog Farmer (2013), p. 8-17.

• The Humane Society of the United States (2012) Scientists and Experts on Gestation Crates and Sow Welfare. Available at: http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/farm/HSUS-Synopsis-of-Expert-Opinions-on-Gestation-Crates-and-Sow-Welfare.pdf

References: • Angier, N. (2009) Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain.

Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10angier.html?_r=0

• Cromwell, G. L., Hays, V. W. (1999) The Swine Industry - Significant Events of the Past Century. The Farmer’s Pride, Vol. 11, No. 26. Available at: https://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/swineindustry-significanteventspastcentury.pdf

• Fredeen, H.T., Sather, A.P. (1978) Joint damage in pigs reared under confinement. Canadian Journal of Animal Science; vol. 58: p. 759-773.